Monday Madden: Pitt gets stage fright

Sunday

What a great sports weekend! The Daytona 500, the NBA All-Star Game ... and I paid zero attention to both! Now, for your enjoyment, refreshing sports notes! No pit stops, no 3-pointers ... JACKPOT!

-- Pitt basketball seems afraid of success. When they're No. 1, or within reach of a new plateau (like consideration for the first seed overall in the NCAA tournament), the Panthers immediately lose. As good as Pitt perennially is, they remain not ready for prime time. Only a Final Four disproves that.

-- Duquesne shows signs of the same malaise, Atlantic 10-style. Just as notoriety starts to gather, the Dukes lose three of four. But T.J. McConnell's contributions as a freshman are amazing. He's a legitimate catalyst.

-- Jordan Staal won't pile up points during the absences of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. But witness his overtime winner vs. Los Angeles, his game-tying goal at Colorado, his game-tying assist yesterday at Chicago. Staal will make big plays. He'll help the team pile up points.

-- Marc-Andre Fleury might be hockey's top goalie. But given the Penguins' injury-riddled circumstances, and their dogged fight to stay near the top of the Eastern Conference - never mind the Vezina Trophy, Fleury should get MVP votes. What a save on Chicago's Michael Frolik in overtime.

-- The Penguins won't announce Crosby is being shut down for the season. They'll just run out of games. Crosby's situation is truly being monitored moment-to-moment. But the organization's business side feels any potential reward of Crosby returning this season isn't worth the risk.

-- The Penguins should have acquired Alex Kovalev weeks ago. Potential reward overwhelms risk in this case. Kovalev wins that game yesterday. That extra point alone would have been worth a late-round pick. Kovalev's an enigma, sure. But the Penguins suit up a half-dozen minor-league forwards every night. Better the devil you don't know.

-- The Penguins' best call-up has been winger Brett Sterling. The Pens need to find an unexpected source of goals. The pint-sized Sterling has three in five games. The Consol Energy Center crowd should bust out a "Rudy" chant.

-- Philadelphia paid too much for Kris Versteeg. Boston did the same for Tomas Kaberle. But with the Penguins literally crippled and Washington stumbling, the Flyers and Bruins are wisely seizing opportunity that might not often exist in the Eastern Conference over the next half-decade.

-- I'm anti-fighting and anti-dirty play. But if the NHL's rules allow the former and tolerate the latter, the Penguins need practitioners of both.

-- I saw Mario Lemieux coach his son Austin's team Saturday afternoon, then patiently pose for every picture and sign every autograph. You've got some nerve if you think Mario doesn't have hockey's best interest at heart.

-- The Pirates should lure Albert Pujols to Pittsburgh by giving him ownership of the team. Wonder what Pujols the CEO would think of Ross Ohlendorf getting a $1.5 million raise after going 1-11?

-- If the Pirates offered Pujols $1 billion for five years, he still wouldn't sign.